Archive for the ‘Groucho Marx’ Category

On this Fifth day of the month of Groucho, we again celebrate the life and legacy of St.Groucho Marx.

The middle brother of the five Marx Brothers, St.Groucho was originally born “Orange” Julius Henry Marx, but, like his other brothers, named himself after a month of the Discordian calendar his uncle Al Shean (of noted vaudeville act “Gallagher and Shean”) introduced the five boys to at an early age. It was at this point that Julius adopted the earlier nickname of “Orange” due to his strange devotion to the goddess, and his considering the modern “Orange” fruit to be a more likely representation of the ‘golden apple’ of legend.

Early on in his career St.Groucho adopted an ethnic German accent for his on-stage character, but once friction between his Discordian Cabal and the Bavarian Illuminati erupted he abandoned the accent and adopted the fast-talking wise guy character he would make later make famous, basing the characterization on a friend of his Uncle Al’s named Coleslaw, the same man Warner Brothers later based the character of Bugs Bunny on.

St.Groucho’s son, Arthur, published a brief account of an incident when Arthur was a child: The family was going through airport customs, and while filling out a form, St.Groucho listed his name as “Julius Henry Marx” and his occupation as “smuggler.” Needless to say, chaos ensued.

By the Gregorian calendar he was born on the 2nd day of October 1890, and died on the 19th day of August 1977.